San Francisco Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards is facing allegations that an investment group he’s a member of is guilty of what he publicly rails against: ignoring city planning and building codes to make millions of dollars on a quick real estate flip. The building is 3426-3432 22nd St., a four-unit historic Italianate building near Guerrero Street.

Photo: JK Dineen /

San Francisco Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards, self-styled crusader against gentrification and real estate speculation, has taken a leave of absence from his post amid turmoil involving a Mission District real estate project he’s tied to.

Richards expects to be off the board until mid-February, his spokeswoman Julie Edwards said Friday.

“He has to focus right now on family medical issues,” she said, as well as untangling a thorny property dispute with the Department of Building Inspections, which claimed he and his investors ignored city planning and building codes to make millions of dollars on a real estate flip.

“He plans on resolving these issues so he can give the board the full attention it deserves,” Edwards said.

His absence comes as the board is working to fill the vacant position of Planning Department director. Richards was appointed to the commission in 2014.

He’s a part ofa group of investors that operates as Six Dogs LLC, which is trying to get the city’s Board of Appeals to overturn a decision to yank the permits for 3426-3432 22nd Street, a four-unit historic building near Guerrero Street. The appeals board has yet to formally rule on the matter, but urged the two sides to reach an accord.

“Six Dogs worked hard to make the building safer and, while they disagree with the actions taken by DBI, they are doing everything possible to resolve these issues,” Edwards said.

The group bought the property in June 2017 for $2.7 million and spent $350,000 buying out four tenants, as well as remodeling large portions of the building. Six Dogs is now marketing the property for $7.88 million.

Richards, who often rails against speculators and property-flippers during commission meetings who push out long-term tenants, has denied his project did exactly that.

“Nothing had been done to the building in decades,” he told The Chronicle earlier this month. “It was slum conditions. People can throw rocks at me if they like, but I go to bed knowing that everyone won here.”

Richards said all the tenants of the building had asked to be bought out, including a family of Mexican immigrants who were paying less than $600 a month. He said he wanted them to stay, but the family wanted to relocate.

Richards had threatened to sue the city’s inspection department, who he believes retaliated against him for his frequent criticism of its work. On Friday, Edwards declined to comment if Richards planned to sue.

Matthias Gafni joined The San Francisco Chronicle as an enterprise reporter in February 2019. He investigates stories in the East Bay and beyond. For almost two decades, Gafni worked for the Bay Area News Group – San Jose Mercury News, East Bay Times and Vallejo Times-Herald -- covering corruption, child sexual abuse, criminal justice, aviation and more. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and graduated from UC Davis. He lives with his wife and three kids in the East Bay.